A Window into the Future

In 1981, Nike hired an architect named Tinker Hatfield to design their Oregon offices. Today, Hatfield is widely regarded as a legend in design – except this prestige isn’t attributed to his architectural work. Observing parallels between architecture and sneakers, Hatfield came up with the idea for a pair of sneakers that revealed the cushioned pouch hidden inside of the sole, a technology that had been introduced back in 1978. Despite initial opposition and doubts, Hatfield’s vision came to life in the form of the Air Max 1 in 1987, a sneaker that went on to become one of the most iconic running shoes of all time.

As part of the recent Air Max 30th anniversary, Nike unveiled the next chapter of the Air Max saga – the Nike Air VaporMax – a sleek and futuristic iteration of the Air Max. Built with the knowledge from three decades of experience, the VaporMax strips away the rubber and foam of traditional sneaker soles, leaving only bare cushioning units. To celebrate this new release, and by extension, Hatfield’s innovative spirit, Nike invited a new generation of up-and-coming artists – including many from China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan – to present their vision of the future in an exhibition called The Vision-Airs.

The exhibition made its first appearance at this year’s Art Basel Hong Kong with a showcase of experimental works by talented Asian fashion designers, including Anais Mak of the well-established Hong Kong fashion brand Jourden and numerous emerging Chinese fashion designers such as Fengchen Wang, Wanbing Huang, and Shizhe He. In addition to fashion designers, Nike also invited Hong Kong-based multimedia artist Chris Cheung (aka h0nh1m) to take part in the exhibition. Playing with the concept of vaporization and the idea of the human body being an orchestra, Cheung created “VaporScape,” an interactive installation that detects the room’s humidity and skin temperature of the audience and translates the information into ambient sounds.

As The Vision-Airs concludes in Hong Kong, the Shanghai edition begins. With an equally futuristic aesthetic, the Shanghai exhibition showcases collaborative pieces that weren’t displayed during Art Basel Hong Kong, including collaborations with influential creatives – all of whom are innovators in their respective fields – such as Taiwanese architect and engineer Arthur Huang, Australian industrial designer Marc Newson, and Italian fashion designer Riccardo Tisci.